Aspects of plasma biochemistry and intestinal health of weaned piglets fed dietary extruded linseed and walnut meal mixture

Abstract

The effects of dietary extruded linseed (ELS):walnut meal (WM) mixture (8:1) on some plasma parameters and intestinal health in weaned piglets was investigated. Forty piglets (Topigs hybrid; body weight BW=8.02±0.82 kg), age 30±3 days, were divided into 2 groups and fed 2 diets: control (C, based on corn-triticale-soybean meal (SBM)) and experimental (ELS:WM, where the ELS:WM mixture 8:1 partially replaces SBM). Blood samples were collected at 7 and 21 days postweaning (PW). A chemistry analyzer was used to determine the plasma lipid (total cholesterol, T-Chol; HDL-cholesterol, HDL-C; triglycerides, TG), mineral and enzymatic profile. Microbial populations from fecal samples were determined by counting the colonies obtained on selected media. There was no effect of dietary mixture inclusion on plasma parameters at 7 and 21 days PW (P>0.05). The plasma HDL-C concentration was positively correlated with the alpha-linolenic (ALA) fatty acids content of diet at days 7 (r=0.94, P<0.0001) and 21 PW (r=0.89, P<0.0001), while at day 21 PW the T-Chol (r=0.52, P=0.08) and TG (r=0.54, P=0.07) tended to be influenced by the dietary treatment. Fecal score (FS) decreased at day 7 PW (P>0.05), and at day 21 PW a tendency to decrease FS as a response to dietary mixture addition was observed (P=0.07). The tested dietary mixture positively affected the microbial fecal populations by decreasing the Staphylococcus spp. (P=0.001), E. coli (P<0.0001) and fungi (P=0.004), also tended to increase the Lactobacillus spp. (P=0.08). In conclusion, the dietary mixture could be an alternative to partially replace SBM in piglet's diet due to positive biochemical response and intestinal health.